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On 1 May, 2013By admin0 Comments

The Whittier Scholars Program (WSP) was created for students who prefer an existence that is based on self-determination and who are open to change.

As an individualized liberal arts program, WSP students create their own major or minor or design their own course of study around a traditional major in collaboration with faculty advisors and peers. The WSP is not an honors program. Rather it is open to students who are highly motivated, self-directed, independent, fascinated by ideas, and willing to meet program expectations.

WSP students take a series of interdisciplinary seminars designed to pique intellectual curiosity by considering a range of fundamental questions, most of which have no easy answers. With the exception of the four required seminars, students complete the remainder of the credit requirements necessary for graduation by taking courses across the curriculum. In this way, they enjoy a shared experience with other students in the Program, but are also part of the broader campus community. The culmination of the WSP is a Senior Project, which is designed, presented, and defended by all students in close collaboration with faculty sponsors.

Created in 1977, the WSP traditionally attracts high achieving and independent students. Currently, about 12 percent of Whittier students are members of the Program.

Through the processes of reading, writing, and discussion, students in the WSP gain a better understanding of themselves and of the world around them. WSP graduates are self-aware, intellectually confident students who can see an academic and intellectual endeavor through to its completion.

WSP Educational Outcomes

Whittier Scholars students learn to explore difficult questions and accept that answers are not always easy, nor what they expect

Whittier Scholars students are members of a community of learners in which they share their ideas with fellows students, faculty members, and visiting scholars

Whittier Scholars students have considered what it means to be an “educated person” and design their own educational program so they can achieve this goal.